New awards for Scotland's small towns will see communities from Aberdeenshire to Argyll and Bute benefit from over £6.4 million of funding, as part of Historic Scotland's Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme.

The money was awarded in the sixth round of the funding initiative, which has seen over £33 million of Scottish Government funds invested by Historic Scotland since 2007, benefitting more than 50 projects.

The latest recipients are Fraserburgh (which is to receive £1.2m), New Lanark (£1.5m), Strathaven (£625,000), Coatbridge (£800,000), Tranent (£570,000), Millport (£750,000), and Campbeltown (£990,000), who are set to receive the funding over the next five years.

Previous recipients have used the cash to restore struggling town centres and high streets, brought vacant or 'at risk' buildings back into reuse, helped homeowners with small grants schemes, and provided training opportunities in traditional skills and education programmes.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, said: "We've invested over £33 million through CARS since 2007, helping towns and cities across Scotland improve and conserve their built environment.

"Scotland's historic towns and communities comes in all shapes and sizes, from former mining towns like Tranent in East Lothian, to historic ports like Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, or market towns like Strathaven in South Lanarkshire.

"The Scottish Government is committed to investing in regeneration projects across the country and enabling dedicated Scots to improve their local area and look after their heritage, which is one of the priorities of the historic environment strategy for Scotland: Our Place in Time."

Jane Ryder, the newly appointed chair of Historic Environment Scotland, said: "A key objective of the strategy [is] to put the conditions in place which allow our heritage to make as strong a contribution as possible to the cultural, social, environmental and economic value of Scotland."

CARS targets conservation areas with social and economic disadvantages that make it difficult to attract investment in sustainable regeneration. The scheme assists these areas by channelling funding towards opportunities to enhance sustainable economic growth and help support projects that develop an area's sense of place.

Each round of CARS funding is open to local and national park authorities, community groups and other third sector organisations delivering multi-funded projects. The funding can be used for a number of purposes from priority repairs and small grants to homeowners and retailers, to providing traditional craft training opportunities.